It took Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis a while -- a long while -- but he has finally come to his senses about the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Dr. Anthony Fauci and crew have made clear, we're never not going to have some 'variant' of the virus floating around in our air; the latest one, omicron, is a perfect example. And on cue, some Democratic governors like Kathy Hochul in New York have already declared an "emergency" and implemented more strict mandates on masking and vaccines.
Polis used to be 'that guy' as well. For a year-and-a-half, he fell for the "bend the curve" lie and implemented lockdowns followed by the same ineffective mandates that have not worked to stop the spread of any COVID variant.
So he's taking the approach of Govs. Ron DeSantis in Florida, Mike Parson in Missouri, and other red-state governors and ending the goofy emergency while allowing residents of his state to decide what they want to do in response to the pandemic.
“Everybody had more than enough opportunity to get vaccinated,” Polis told Colorado Public Radio on Friday. “Hopefully it’s been at your pharmacy, your grocery store, a bus near you, [or at] big events. At this point, if you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s really your own darn fault.”
“Those who get sick, it’s almost entirely their own darn fault,” he continued. “I don’t want to say that nobody [will get the virus if they’re] vaccinated, but it’s very rare. Just to put it in perspective, of the about 1400 people hospitalized, less than 200 (or 16 percent) are vaccinated. And many of them are older or have other conditions. Eighty-four percent of the people in our hospitals are unvaccinated, and they absolutely had every chance to get vaccinated.”
“And at this point, I think it’s almost like they made a deliberate decision not to get vaccinated,” he added. “I still encourage everybody who hasn’t been vaccinated to get protected. And for those who are, make sure to get that booster after six months. The data shows it’s important and very likely even more so with this omicron variant.”
He also said he will leave it up to local jurisdictions how those elected leaders want to handle mandates, vaccine rules and so forth.
“The emergency is over,” he said. “You know, public health [officials] don’t get to tell people what to wear; that’s just not their job. Public health [officials] would say to always wear a mask because it decreases flu and decreases [other airborne illnesses]. But that’s not something that you require; you don’t tell people what to wear. You don’t tell people to wear a jacket when they go out in winter and force them to [wear it]. If they get frostbite, it’s their own darn fault.
“If you haven’t been vaccinated, that’s your choice. I respect that. But it’s your fault when you’re in the hospital with COVID,” he said.
The governor went on to say he believes there is an “alternate misinformation universe” feeding into those who have decided against taking the vaccine.
“There are people that believe you and I are part of some massive conspiracy, Ryan,” he said to “Colorado Matters” host Ryan Warner. “Some of them believe there is no COVID; some of them believe the vaccine doesn’t work; some believe that the vaccine has severe side effects.
“The truth is they’re in their own bubble, and it’s very hard to penetrate,” Polis observed.
The governor’s remarks come as a number of areas in the state including the metropolitan regions of Denver require residents to “vax or mask” — an order to businesses to require patrons to provide proof of vaccination or wear a mask while inside.
We agree -- but the misinformation isn't coming from our side. We are the truth-tellers, in fact, and have been throughout this mess.
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